SR 11-04 - Resolution in Support of the American Institutions Graduation Requirement

Senate Resolution File:
SR 11-04 Resolution in Support of the American Institutions Graduation Requirement

Purpose: To retain at Channel Islands the CSU commitment to graduating all students with “knowledge and skills that will help them comprehend the workings of American democracy and of the society in which they live to enable them to contribute to that society as responsible and constructive citizens” (Article 5, Section 40404, of the Administrative Code of the CSU)

Senate Resolution
RESOLVED That the Academic Senate of CSU Channel Islands reaffirm its commitment to an equal and uniform undergraduate educational experience by requiring that all transfer students as well as native students meet the American Institutions (AI) requirement through course work or comprehensive examination as established by Title 5, Section 40404; and be it further
RESOLVED That the CI Academic Senate oppose the approval of any waiver requests of the AI requirement for any undergraduate degree program; and be it further
RESOLVED That copies of this resolution be distributed to the Chancellor, Board of Trustees, and the ASCSU.

Rationale:
At its inaugural meeting on June 19, 1961, the Board of Trustees of the California State Colleges (renamed the California State University in 1972) voted to maintain a system-wide graduation requirement in American Institutions (AI) that had been mandated under state law for its predecessor institution, the California State Teachers Colleges. This commitment to American Institutions was codified in Article 5, Section 40404 of the Administrative Code of the CSU system (Title 5) which states that the purpose of the American Institutions requirements “is to ensure that students acquire knowledge and skills that will help them to comprehend the workings of American democracy and of the society in which they live to enable them to contribute to that society as responsible and constructive citizens.” Title 5 further required that
“each campus shall provide for comprehensive study of American history and American government including the historical development of American institutions and ideals, the Constitution of the United States and the operation of representative democratic government under that Constitution, and the processes of state and local government.”

Additionally, the CSU Board of Trustees assigns to faculty the primary responsibility for the educational functions of the institution in accordance with basic policy as determined by the Board of Trustees. This includes admission and degree requirements, the curriculum and methods of teaching, academic and professional standards, and the conduct of creative and scholarly activities (Report of the Board of Trustees’ Ad Hoc Committee on Governance, Collegiality, and Responsibility in the California State University System, 1985).
In 2010, the California legislature passed SB 1440 (the “Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act”), a measure designed to streamline transfers from the California Community Colleges to the CSU. SB 1440 did not require the CCC system to fulfill the CSU American Institutions requirements as a condition for transfer to the CSU and the CCC system has since refused to include these requirements in newly created transfer AA degrees. SB 1440 further specifies that, except for high unit majors, a student who completes the AA degree for transfer must be able to complete his or her baccalaureate degree by taking no more than 60 semester units at the CSU campus.
Despite efforts by faculty and administrators throughout the system, the Board of Trustees approved the proposal to permit consideration of waiver requests of the American Institutions as a graduation requirement. As a result of the Board’s action, each CSU campus now has the authority to decide whether or not to recommend AI waivers to the Chancellor’s Office.